Icing

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What Is The Definition Of Icing In Hockey?

1. Refers to when a player shoots the puck from their end of the ice and the puck crosses at least two red lines untouched, with the opponent’s goal line being the last one crossed. The defensive player must touch the puck after it crosses the goal line for icing to be called and for play to be stopped, before the offensive player touches the puck. When icing is called, the puck is then brought down to the side of the ice that the puck was shot for a face-off.

Why Is There Icing In Hockey?

When a team dumps the puck down the other end of the ice, many times it is a delaying tactic to keep their opponent out of the zone. If there was not an icing violation rule, then teams could continue to hit the puck clear across the ice often without any sort of repercussion, making it a race to the end of the ice every time to gain control of the puck. With icing in effect, it encourages continuous play and basically eliminates any stall tactic by teams.

Examples Of How Icing Is Used In Commentary

1. Leetch misses the wing on the pass as the puck rolls all the way down the ice. The goalie stops the puck and icing is called.

SportsLingo Goes The Extra-Inch With The Meaning Of Icing

There is an instance where icing is not called when the puck crosses two red lines and the goal line. When a team is shorthanded, they will not be called for icing. This is to help them when they are trying to kill a penalty, therefore the team may legally “ice the puck”. However, a team on the power play can still be called for icing.